


Parting Ways, Coming Closer

by Yuunyanshi



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 18:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16792180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuunyanshi/pseuds/Yuunyanshi
Summary: Tamaki takes home an abandoned puppy on a rainy day and causes a commotion at the dorms.As his unit partner, Sougo takes the matter into his own hands.





	Parting Ways, Coming Closer

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by Mary (@Violet_5tar on Twitter), posted to AO3 with her consent.

A gloomy, cloudy sky could be seen outside the window of the practice room. 

Tamaki and Sougo had just finished rehearsing for the next MEZZO'' live. Even though it was still daytime, such a thing would be difficult to tell by the gray scenery of the city during such heavy rain.

Sougo sighed heavily; he did check the weather newscast before leaving the dorm earlier, but the rain was much worse than what the prediction said.

And to make things more complicated, he still had a solo photo shoot after that. It was going to be a long, exhaustive day.

The pair silently walked down a few flights of stairs, heading to the hall of the building. As they approached the entrance, Sougo was the first one to break the silence.

"Tamaki-kun, did you remember to bring an umbrella?"

"Yup."

"Good. You're going back to the dorm now, right? Take care."

"You too, Sou-chan."

As he readily opened his umbrella, Tamaki looked behind once, seemed to think about something for a brief moment and, as if disregarding said thought, waved his hand slightly and faced once again the entrance glass door.

"Wait, Tamaki-kun."

"What is it?"

"I forgot to tell you, but I bought you pudding when I went to the convenience store earlier. You can have some once you're back."

Tamaki's eyes widened in both surprise and delight, and his face broke into a big, cheerful smile.

"Ooh, thanks Sou-chan! You're the best!"

"You have been working hard these past days managing both work and school. Iori-kun told me that your grades are starting to get better, too. All this must be difficult for you, so I thought you deserved more than just some praise."

"Yay!"

In a visibly better mood, Tamaki exited the tall building, already thinking about the reward waiting for him back at the dorm.

Maybe because of the heavy rain, the trains seemed to not be working, and the traffic was chaotic. Even if he were to find a vacant taxi, it would take forever to get anywhere, so Tamaki decided that the best course of action would be to accept the situation as it was and go home on foot. It would be okay; even if he were to get soaked wet, none of the other IDOLiSH7 members were supposed to be back until much later, so he could take his time warming up and relaxing in the bathtub... After eating his well deserved pudding, obviously.

Gaining strength from the prospect of having his favorite thing waiting for him after this walk that could easily take almost half an hour, Tamaki put on his mask and started heading to the dorm.

Easier said than done, though; at times, the rain would pour right in his direction, making seeing even a few steps ahead a challenge. 

At some point in the way, Tamaki overheard something that sounded like a bark and some girls at a bus stop talking. 

It wasn't intentional; he just happened to pass right by their side.

"Hey, is it really okay to rescue only one of them? I feel bad for the other puppy being left all alone there..."

"It couldn't be helped, there's no way I could care for two dogs. Also, this one is a female, and is smaller and cuter."

"That's true, but... I don't know..."

"Why didn't you adopt the other puppy if you're that worried about him?"

"You know that my apartment complex doesn't allow pets...!"

"See? It can't be helped. He should be happy that at least his sister found a home."

He barely got any of the context of the conversation, but Tamaki felt his chest hurt. The whole situation was somewhat similar to his and Aya's, and to some extend he could sympathize with the puppy left behind.

Moved more by his emotions than any common sense, Tamaki approached the girls, butting in.

"Hey, could you tell me where the puppy is!?"

"Uh? Wait, aren't you...!?"

"Please, I'm in a hurry!!!"

"The puppies were in this alley two blocks away, in that direction, but—"

"Thank you!!"

Not waiting for the rest of their sentence, Tamaki ran in the direction the girl pointed. Walking wasn't any easier than before, but he was too worried for the small animal to care. The rain was pouring down strongly to possibly wash such a small creature away, and even if that didn't happen, all the lightning was sure to scare any lonely puppy.

Turning at the indicated point, Tamaki heard a low, faint whine. Looking around in search of the source of the sound, he was greet by a tiny and frail figure staring back at him from behind a pole. Once again the small creature made a noise, almost as if confirming it's presence. 

Not being sure if that's supposed to be a friendly invitation for Tamaki to approach him or a warning from a scared puppy telling him to go away, the boy closed the distance between them slowly with small steps, all while humming a soothing melody. 

It's not like Tamaki had ever had the chance to keep a pet before, but he was used to taking care of young children and tried a similar approach to make the puppy trust him. The last thing a child would want when they are alone and scared is having someone that big cornering them even more. Acting gentle and friendly was the key, and Tamaki knew that way too well, as he also liked people like that. Contrary to his age and appearance, Tamaki was, with no doubt, a child at heart.

His calming presence seemed to trigger a reaction from the small creature that, just as slowly and carefully as Tamaki tried to approach him, started to leave his hiding spot. Tamaki could swear he saw it's eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Hey— Come here, c'me here. You're a good boy."

They finally touched. Tamaki gave his new friend a moment to examine his inviting hand, and when the puppy seemed to be calmer around him, picked him up, hiding the small animal under his soaked parka, in a almost worthless attempt at keeping him warm and away from the rain.

"It's okay. You're not alone anymore. I'm your friend now."

And, like that, they went back to the dorms together, enjoying each other's presence under the heavy rain.

No one was supposed to be there until dawn. At least, that's what Tamaki was told early that morning, but the familiar voice that called out to him as he stepped inside the living room were definitely not his imagination's work.

"Tamaki, welcome back!"

Riku, who had apparently just left the bathroom with his hair still wet, called out to him. Tamaki, surprised by the other's presence, didn't reply immediately.

"Crap, why is Rikkun here?!"

He wasn't ready for this. He acted on impulse by bringing the dog with him, but his presence could be dangerous enough to Riku to trigger an attack, and that's a fact.

"Tamaki., are you alright..?"

Snapping back to reality, Tamaki tried to muster all his strength to look as unaffected as possible.

"Y-yeah, I'm just tired. And wet. Why are you here?"

"Our unit photoshoot was cancelled due to the rain. Ah, sorry, the bath is open, you should go in soon!"

"Uh, okay."

Tamaki immediately went to his room, picked some dry clothes and proceeded to the bathroom, all while trying to hide his tiny furry friend under a towel. Maybe because he finally felt safe enough to relax, the puppy had fallen deeply asleep in Tamaki's arms, only shivering slightly occasionally due to the cold.

Not wanting to leave the puppy in that state for much longer, the teenager improvised a shallow bathtub for the other with a bucket, while Tamaki himself took a rushed shower before sinking in the tub. 

But the thought of what would come after made Tamaki refrain from relaxing completely. 

As he stated himself several times before, Tamaki was far from being IDOLiSH7's brightest member. He took a dog in without thinking it through, and his presence in the dorm would without a doubt cause a hassle. As much as the boy would hate to admit, his new friend would not be able to stay with him.

"Haa... What should we do...?"

Though the question seemed to be directed to the puppy, Tamaki didn't really expect the animal to reply or even understand his concerns. He just felt the need to let his thoughts out, in an almost desperate attempt of sorting them enough to come up with a solution for the issue. 

Seeing as nothing was happening and the heat of the hot bath had long ago stopped being comforting, Tamaki rises from the water and reached for one of the towels. As soon as he finished drying himself up, he proceeded to do the same to the puppy who, for the first time since he was rescued a couple hours ago, let out a cheerful bark. 

"Shhh, if the others hear you, we'll be in trouble!!!"

Seeing that his mood had improved was a good sign, but Tamaki's heart sank from the possibility of them both being found out and separated from each other before a solution for the problem could be found. Thankfully, for the meantime, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed. The teenager left out a deep sigh.

Carefully, Tamaki brought the tiny creature back to his room, and left him be for a while in order for the puppy to get familiar with the place... Until "it" happened.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still not very confident in my writing of long fanfics, so in order to keep things at least relatively organized, I decided to separate it into two chapters instead of one long one-shot. Next chapter will be up... Eventually...


End file.
